


(we are all just, so preciously, human) this is what makes the distance between us

by majesdane



Category: FlashForward, Fringe
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-04
Updated: 2011-10-04
Packaged: 2017-10-24 07:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/260919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesdane/pseuds/majesdane





	(we are all just, so preciously, human) this is what makes the distance between us

Simply put, Janis Hawk was not happy about being transferred over to the Fringe Division.

She'd worked in the Los Angeles field office since she'd first been accepted in the bureau and she'd grown accustomed to it. All her friends were there and she liked working under Mark as his go-to girl, as the one person in this group who knew computers better than anyone else. But it was more than just that: her whole life was in Los Angeles. It was where she'd grown up and gone to school and trained for the bureau. It was where she'd first kissed a boy (and then a long, long succession of girls) and where she'd met her best friend, Demetri Noh, in college.

Getting transferred to the Fringe Division meant having to give all that up to move to Boston, an idea which made Janis a little bit panicky. She was used to reasonably warm winters, sunshine all year round, and was not excited at the prospect of blustery January days and a summer that ended almost as soon as it it began. As far as Janis was concerned, moving to Boston would be the equivalent of moving to another country, almost.

It didn't help either that she'd been given a minimal amount of information as to why she was being transferred in the first place and what her new job would entail. All she knew about the Fringe Division aside from the fact that their office in Boston was only half a dozen blocks away from Massive Dynamic -- a huge enterprise that Janis had helped do some security work for on a slow summer three years prior -- was that they had a laboratory at Harvard.

Moving was the worst part, but she was at least relieved that she'd managed to find an apartment in Brighton, less than half an hour away from Boston. She spent her first weekend in her new apartment unpacking all the boxes and trying to find her way around the city.

Demetri called her that evening. "So, how's the East Coast?"

"Good so far. I guess. Sort of."

"You sound thrilled," Demetri laughed. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to it. It's not that bad. And as soon as I have enough vacation time, I'm going to be coming out to visit you."

Janis grinned. "You'd better."

"Oh," Demetri said, and in the background Janis could hear the sound of him typing. "I thought I'd do you a favor and do some looking into the Fringe Division. There's not much out there, not even on the Bureau's database, so I'm guessing whatever you're working on is going to be pretty confidential. But I did find out about Olivia Dunham, the Fringe Division's Science Team leader."

Janis rummaged around in the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice. "Oh? What about her?"

"It's just mostly a rundown of her accomplishments, former jobs, that sort of thing. Um, let's see," Demetri paused, and Janis could hear the sound of more typing. "Okay, Olivia Dunham. Graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Psychology and Criminology, served as a United States Marine Corps special investigator -- after a few years she joined the FBI. She was an agent in the Department of Homeland Security until 2008, when she joined the Fringe Division."

"That's an impressive record," Janis said, pouring herself a glass of juice. "Does it say why she was transferred from Homeland Security to the Fringe Division?"

"It says she was attacked by an unknown assailant in mid-2008," Demetri told her. "Maybe that had something to do with it?"

"Anything else about her I should know?"

More typing. "Uh -- she's fluent in German and Mandarin. And apparently she's also familiar with Arabic, but not fluent in that. Huh," Demetri said, making a sound of approval. "Well, let me know what she's like."

"Will do," Janis promised.

She hung up a few minutes later, wishing Demetri good night. She was still feeling a bit jet-lagged from her flight on Friday, but she crawled into bed regardless, knowing it would be best if she at least got a few hours of sleep before her first day of work tomorrow. But it was more than just jet-lag that kept her up; she'd already mapped a route from Brighton to Boston and knew exactly what roads to take and what to expect as far as that was concerned, but she was still clueless about the Fringe Division, and that made her anxious.

Olivia Dunham seemed like an interesting individual she thought, as she rolled over in bed with a sigh. She stared at the clock on her night stand, the numbers glowing red and in darkness; she was looking forward to tomorrow when she'd get a chance to meet Olivia and finally get some of her questions answered.

(Or all of them, if she could help it.)

 

;;

 

But when she arrived the next morning at the FBI office in Boston at a quarter to nine, Olivia was nowhere to be found.

Janis had had no trouble locating Olivia's office, but the door was locked and knocking drew no response. Janis was unsure of what to do and stopped to ask someone if they knew where she could find Agent Dunham; she was directed to an office on the other side of the floor.

The office was numbered 4290 and a little placard on the door read Broyles, P.

The door was half-open; Janis knocked softly on the door frame."Um, hi?" she asked, taking a step into the office as the man inside looked up. "I'm Special Agent Janis Hawk, the new transfer from the Los Angeles field office? I'm looking for, uh, Special Agent Olivia Dunham."

"We were wondering when you'd be getting in, Agent Hawk," the man said, standing up and coming over to shake Janis' hand. "I'm Special Agent-in-Charge Phillip Broyles. It's good to meet you. Unfortunately, Agent Dunham is out in the field right now."

"Oh," Janis said, surprised. "Well, I mean, okay. Is there -- do I have a desk? I'd really like to get started on doing some work today, you know, catch up on things. I don't mind waiting on Agent Dunham, I'm sure I can find some things to do until she gets back."

A hint of a smile played across Broyles' lips. "I don't believe you've been briefed on what the Fringe Division is all about, have you, Agent Hawk?"

Janis shook her head. "No sir."

"You won't be working here in the office," Broyles told her, leading her out the door and into the hall. "Not unless there are extenuating circumstances . Since you're considered part of the Science Team, you will be primarily working out of the Division's laboratory at Harvard. I assume you know where it is?"

Janis replied that she did; it was one of the things she'd done some research on before she'd left Los Angeles. "Should I just go over there, then?" she asked, shifting her bag to her other shoulder. "It won't take me long to -- "

"Ah, they won't need you there yet," Broyles interrupted.

"Come again?" Janis paused.

"You don't need to go in to work until nine o'clock," Broyles told her, checking his watch. "You've got eleven hours."

"Nine as in . . . Night?" Janis asked, growing more and more confused by the minute. She was beginning to think that this was why she wasn't told anything about the job prior to arrival. She could understand working out of the Harvard laboratory, that made sense. But starting each evening at nine o'clock? It just seemed so strange.

Broyles nodded. His phone beeped, signaling a message. "Until six every morning," he said. "Is that a problem?"

"No!" Janis said quickly, putting up her hands. Then, softer, "No. It's fine. I just didn't know about it, that's all. Is there a reason why they're such odd hours? I've never heard of a division that operated like that."

"There's a lot you still have to learn about the Fringe Division,Agent Hawk." Broyles chuckled. "Needless to say, we are not like any other division you may be familiar with."

"And you can't tell me some of it?" Janis asked, as they made their way down the hall to the elevators.

"Some things are better seen than heard," Broyles explained, as they reached the elevators. He pushed the down button. "If you need anything, Agent Hawk," he said, turning to Janis, "I'll be here. And I'll let Agent Dunham and the others know that you've arrived and to be expecting you."

Janis smiled, shaking his hand again. "Thanks," she said, as the elevator ping-ed and the doors slid open.

"Oh, and one last thing," Broyles said, as Janis stepped inside the elevator. "Be careful, Agent Hawk."

Well, Janis thought, as the doors closed and she hit the button for the first floor. Well, that wasn't at all foreboding.

 

;;

 

She'd spent most of the day finishing unpacking the rest of her boxes and putting everything away, just because she couldn't stand to have things unorganized. For a while she tried to get some sleep as well, but that hadn't worked out at all; at most she'd dozed on and off every couple of minutes.

Around six o'clock that evening she'd decided to get dinner and maybe have a few drinks just to calm her nerves. Her little meeting this morning with Agent Broyles hadn't done much for Janis' new job anxiety and she knew she'd be a mess going into the evening if she didn't find a way to relax just a little bit.

In the end, she decided to forgo dinner in lieu of finding a bar; she found one a few blocks from her house and was nursing a glass of Hennessy when she caught the eye of a blonde woman who looked to be about her own age, maybe a few years older. She nodded at the woman, who smiled and came over, sliding into the empty seat beside Janis at the counter.

"Brandy, huh?" the woman asked, looking at the drink Janis held in her hand. She flashed her own glass. "Nice. Same here."

She had long blonde hair that fell loosely around her face and shoulders, with piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a business suit, though the top few buttons on her shirt were undone, and it looked as though she'd probably just gotten out of work an hour or so ago. It didn't look like she was wearing any makeup, which Janis couldn't help but feel a little pleased to see. The woman had a certain air about her that Janis couldn't quite place -- like confidence, almost, she thought. But it wasn't quite that.

"It's not really my favorite," Janis told her with a shrug. "But sometimes I'm in the mood for it."

The woman smiled again. "Well, you certainly look like you're in the mood for it now." Her voice was warm and inviting and for some reason, it made Janis feel like sharing about herself, even though usually she wasn't very keen on having conversations with girls she'd just met in a bar.

"New job," Janis confessed, downing the contents of her glass. She could smell the girl's perfume, the sweet scent of lilacs, wild flowers."It's barely even started and already it's stressful. I'm just looking to take my mind off it for right now."

The woman finished her own drink, one hand dropping down to Janis' knee and lingering there. "Is that so?" she asked, her mouth turning up into a wolfish grin."Well, I'm certain you'll find something to help you with that."

 

;;

 

"It's not like I do this kind of thing often," Janis panted, as the woman pushed her up against the bathroom wall with a rough kiss, her tongue sliding against Janis', her hands quickly working their way up Janis' shirt.

Janis wasn't sure why she felt the need to clarify that this wasn't a routine nighttime activity; it had been a long time since she'd randomly hooked up with a stranger in a bar. That was something she would have done in her early college years -- and even then, she'd never really been the forward type, she was always too shy and waiting for someone else to make the first move. But tonight had been different; tonight she'd initiated things, taking the woman by the hand and leading her into the bathroom only after a single round of drinks; it was strange, Janis thought, but also somewhat thrilling as well, and she silently thanked whoever was responsible for her newfound confidence.

Janis was certain that the woman had said what her name was, but now as Janis struggled to think of it, she couldn't. Her mind was hazy from bourbon and lust and her tongue was sluggish with words. "What's your name again," she managed, as the other woman pressed up knee up between Janis' thighs, teasingly rocking upward.

"Didn't say it," the woman said, and Janis could feel her grin into the next kiss. "Why not just think of me as a liaison?"

"Mmm," Janis sighed, gripping the back of the woman's head as her mouth moved lower, sucking on a spot of Janis' neck. "Liaison. Cute. Like a nickname."

"Yeah, all right," Liaison said, kissing Janis' neck before pulling away, causing Janis to give a small cry of dissatisfaction at the loss of contact. "I don't really want to do this here," Liaison said, licking her lips, which looked an even darker shade of red in the pale light of the bathroom. "Want to come back to my place?"

Janis hesitated. She never really felt comfortable going to a stranger's home, even though she knew she'd most likely be more than prepared for any sort of danger that might come her way. "Why not my place?" she asked instead, reaching forward and toying with a button on the other woman's blouse, attempting to be as flirtatious as she could manage. "I just moved in to my new apartment this weekend. It could use a good christening."

"Why not," the woman agreed with an easy smile, her hand slipping into Janis' own.

 

;;

 

The alarm on her phone went off.

It was the emergency alarm that Janis always made sure to turn on just in case she forgot to set the one by her bed -- or slept through it, as was the case now. She'd been dreaming the strangest things -- puddles of blood and running through the woods at night and the smell of gun powder -- and was quickly startled awake by the chirping of the alarm.

"Oh, shit," Janis mumbled,turning over and bed at squinting at the clock. 8.30 the red, digital numbers read. "Shit," she said again, louder, scrambling out of bed and digging around for her clothes on the floor. "I'm going to be late for work."

"Late?" Liaison asked sleepily from the bed, rolling onto her back. "You start working at nine at night? Doing what?"

"Just regular FBI things," Janis shrugged, fastening her bra and pulling her blouse back on and quickly buttoning it up. It was quite obviously rumpled; Janis pressed her hands down the front of it, trying to smooth down some of the wrinkles.

Liaison snorted. "Really."

Janis tugged on her slacks. "Yeah, really," she said. "It's not all shoot-outs and chasing down bad guys, you know. Most of us get the boring desk jobs pushing papers and all that. It's nothing special."

"I don't know," Liaison said, sitting up and grinning, the sheets settling around her waist. "You seem like the type of girl who'd always be looking for adventure."

Janis gave her a look as she slipped on her shoes, shoving her keys, phone, wallet, and badge into her pockets as she flitted about the room, pausing for a moment to inspect her hair in the mirror. It didn't look too bad; she ran the brush through it twice, satisfied enough with the result.

"The door locks automatically as soon as it closes," Janis told Liaison, who was lying down on the bed, stretched out cat-like, the sheets kicked aside. She grinned wolfishly at Janis, who paused in the doorway, considering asking for the girl's phone number. Or email. Or something. Instead, because she was an idiot, she said, "Just close the door when you leave. And if you steal anything, I will know. And I will find you and arrest you."

"Oh, that sounds like a challenge," Liaison said, folding her arms behind her head. Her laughter followed Janis out the door.

 

;;

 

It was exactly nine o'clock that evening when Janis pulled into the Harvard parking lot and ten minutes more to finally find the laboratory. It was at the far end of the hall, in the basement of one of the older buildings, and Janis couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive as she walked down the empty, semi-dark corridor, her footsteps echoing off the walls. She thought it was strange that an FBI-run lab would be in a place like this, but then again, it seemed as though the Fringe Division was run much more differently than most FBI divisions.

Reaching the laboratory at the end of the hall, she pushed through the double doors, preparing herself for anything; it was just a normal lab, however, not that different from any of the others that she'd seen. Beakers stood half-full of different colored liquids, papers were organized into neat piles around the various stations, a petri dish sat left un-inspected under a microscope, a flask bubbled quietly above a Bunsen burner.

Also, in one corner, there was a cow. It stood in its pen, jaw working slowly as it chewed its cud. It stared Janis down with two wide, shiny black eyes.

Okay, well, maybe it wasn't exactly like all the other labs she'd ever seen.

"There's a cow," she found herself blurting out, just because it was so absurd.

"Her name's Gene," someone replied, and it was then that Janis noticed the man bent over a cadaver. The man looked up at her, the scalpel in his hand poised over the cadaver's head. "She's quite friendly, actually." He paused, studying her. "Who are you?"

"Special Agent Janis Hawk," Janis told him, striding across the room and sticking out her hand. "I'm the new transfer from Los Angeles."

"Oh, right, we've been expecting you" the man said, ignoring her hand and instead peeling back the cadaver's gums to make an incision there. He looked down at the lips he had in his hand and then back up at Janis. "Would you mind, uh, holding this?"

"Um, sure -- " Janis agreed, caught off-guard, reaching for a pair of gloves and gingerly taking hold of the lips, keeping them peeled back as the man cut out the cadaver's canine teeth -- which looked unusually large, Janis couldn't help but note uneasily -- and dropping them into a petri dish. He hurried away and came back a moment later with a syringe that he used to draw blood from the body's mouth.

Janis couldn't help but wince at that. She'd seen her fair share of dead bodies, but wasn't exactly fond of seeing cadavers being picked apart -- and even less fond of getting roped into helping with the task. She was glad when the man was done getting samples, letting the lips slide back into place and quickly taking off her gloves.

The man spoke to her as he measured out the blood collected into the beaker into a row of little vials. "Just last night I was eating vanilla custard," he said, as if it was completely normal. "Delicious, by the way, Astrid makes an absolutely superb custard, you should really try it. And as I was eating it, I started thinking about creating an artificial specimen and applying small amount of unusual known allergies to see how it'd affect -- "

"Walter!" A man banged through the double doors. He was carrying a stack of folders, which he promptly deposited on one of the tables. "You know you can't just let anyone come in here and -- oh," he stopped, as Janis held out her badge to him. His expression quickly changed from one of annoyance to relief. "Oh. You're the new agent? Janis Hawk, right? I'm Peter Bishop."

Janis shook his hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you. Are you -- ?"

"I'm not part of the FBI, no," Peter grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm more of a . . . free agent, if you will. Dr. Walter Bishop here," he nodded in the direction of the man who was still working with the vials of blood, "is my father. He does research and development work for the Fringe Division."

"Peter?" a woman called out from the hallway, before stepping into the room as well. She was carrying a matching stack of folders in her hands, which she also dropped off on the table. She looked Janis over. "Is this the new agent?"

"Ah," Peter said with a smile, gesturing between the two women. "Agent Astrid Farnsworth, meet Special Agent Janis Hawk."

Astrid's mouth curved up into a smile as well, shaking Janis' hand. "Nice to meet you. Did you just get here?"

"I was here this morning, actually. Well, I went to the office, first, this morning, but I was told most of the work gets done here at night. I was looking for Special Agent Olivia Dunham, actually. Agent Broyles told me she was out in the field, but I thought she'd be in tonight."

Peter and Astrid exchanged a look that Janis couldn't read. "I don't think she'll be coming in tonight," Peter said, after a moment, going around to the table and beginning to flip through the folders.

"Oh," Janis said, disappointed. "Well, do you know when she'll be back? I was looking forward to meeting her."

Peter shrugged, as Astrid went off to help Walter with his work. "It's hard to say, really. But," he added, after a moment, rifling through a stack of papers, "you don't need to worry about sticking around tonight. We've mostly got a lot of lab work to finish up on and without Olivia around to give you an introduction, you wouldn't be much help."

Janis flushed a little at that. "Are you certain? I'm a fast learner."

"Don't feel like we're blowing you off, Agent Hawk," he said, pausing to smile sympathetically at her. "Trust me, you coming here -- well, it's more than appreciated. But the truth of the matter is that you'd mostly just be in the way tonight. So go home," he told her, looking back down at the papers in his hands. "Get some rest. Trust me when I say you'll need it."

 

;;

 

She found herself struggling to stay awake on the ride back home and wondered if maybe Peter's words had been prophetic. She was relieved when she finally made it back to her complex, trudging up the stairs and heading straight for the bathroom once her apartment door was closed and locked behind her. Turning the water on and letting it warm up, she stripped slowly, tossing her clothes to the side.

Pulling her blouse up and over her head made her wince as it brushed against a spot on her neck. She turned to look at the area in the middle: there was a good-sized purple-red bruise on the side of her neck. Liaison. She touched the bruise on her neck, flinching a little as a spark of pain raced through her at the contact. The woman must have bit her or something.

Of course, she thought, annoyed, rubbing her temple. Of course she had to start her first day off in the new division with everyone seeing a hickey on her neck; she hadn't even thought to check for one as she'd quickly brushed her hair before leaving. It was probably why Peter and Astrid had exchanged that weird look when they'd met her; she felt herself blush now, thinking about it. Wonderful.

Janis didn't have to worry long about it though, because the second she dried off and slipped into bed, she drifted off into sleep. It was only her phone ringing at noon the next that woke her up; she felt around blindly for it for a few rings before giving up, deciding that whoever it was, she would just call back later. After that, she slept right on until eight o'clock that evening, when her alarm went off.

Despite all that sleep -- or, perhaps, because of it -- she still had trouble getting herself out of bed, and it wasn't until she'd showered again that she felt better. She'd had the same strange dreams that she'd had the night before, just flashes of things here and there. The images were so vivid, even upon waking she could recall them, the feel of wet grass beneath her bare feet and the smell of dead leaves. Janis had never had dreams like that before.

It really was the strangest thing.

 

;;

 

There was no one there when Janis arrived at the lab that evening, still a bit groggy. It was going to take some getting used to, she thought; she'd had her fair share of late nights, especially in college, but this was different. She'd have to completely change her whole sleeping pattern. She found herself briefly entertaining the idea of asking if there was still a chance she could get transferred back to Los Angeles.

She was standing over one of the lab tables, looking at a row of vials of blood when the doors to the laboratory opened. In strode a tall, blonde woman, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her black trenchcoat. Janis froze; even with her hair pulled back and wearing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, Janis recognized the woman who'd just walked in.

"Liaison?" Janis asked faintly. "What are you doing here?"

The woman looked confused for a second, but the confusion quickly faded and she laughed. "Oh, right. I forgot -- you can stop calling me that now," she said, with a slight smile. "I much more prefer to be called 'Olivia'. Or 'Agent Dunham,' whichever you like best, really."

"Wait, wait," Janis said, putting up her hands, slowly catching on. "You're Special Agent Olivia Dunham?"

Olivia wore a bemused look on her face, as she leaned against one of the lab tables. "Don't act so shocked."

"But --" Janis started, staring at Olivia and marveling at her absolute nonchalance. She felt ridiculous having to say this out loud. "But, we -- we slept together. Two nights ago -- "

Olivia shrugged, crossing her arms. She had a look on her face that Janis read to mean she was actually wholly pleased with herself, despite her attempt at stoicism. "Yes, you're right. And I was quite impressed," Olivia told Janis, who blushed, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "You're as good as they say."

"Thanks?" Janis said weakly, having to lean back against a lab table herself, feeling a headache coming on. She wanted to ask who had said that, but she also wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to that question. She silently cursed herself for not bothering to ask what Olivia's real name was before sleeping with her; she hated workplace affairs. They always got complicated, even if it was a one-time thing, it was the very nature of the act.

"If you're worried about things be awkward, don't be," Olivia told her in a softer voice, and for a fleeting moment Janis wondered if Olivia could read her mind. "I'm more than capable of understanding and respecting the boundaries between my job and my personal life. I hope that you share my feelings on the subject."

"Well, yes, of course," Janis agreed, still a bit flustered. "But, um. Should we -- I mean, are people going to -- "

Olivia laughed and nodded her head towards Janis' neck. "They've probably figured it out already." Janis reached up to touch the bruise only inches from her collarbone, wincing a bit as her fingers brushed over the skin. "Sorry about that," Olivia continued, "I get a little carried away sometimes."

"You can say that again," Janis mumbled, just as Walter and the others came through the laboratory doors. She smiled up at them as cheerfully as she could managed, determined not to let her conversation with Olivia shake her. The last thing she wanted was to set a bad impression after only one day.

"Oh, Olivia, you're here," Peter said, handing her one of the coffees. He glanced over at Janis. "I'm assuming you two have now, um, officially met?"

"Officially, yes," Olivia said. "But we did have quite a memorable first meeting, I think."

Janis blushed. "Olivia -- "

"Oh, it's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Walter cut in, through a mouthful of watermelon Jell-O, sitting down on one of the lab stools. "In fact, it's quite natural, vampires -- "

Janis felt woozy all of a sudden. "Vampires?" she asked. The whole conversation had just taken a sudden, unexpected turn. It was like she'd been reading a story and then skipped ten chapters ahead. Her legs threatened to give out from beneath her and she had to lean against a lab table for support. Certainly she was hearing things. "Vampires?" she repeated. "What do you mean, 'vampires'? What -- what are you talking about?"

" -- have a very unusual ability to charm people into feeling strong, positive emotions," Walter carried on cheerfully, completely oblivious. "Sexual arousal is primarily the target, but not an absolute. I believe the official term is called a 'glamour,' but well," he set down his plastic cup of Jell-O, rummaging through some papers, "its primary function is to cloud the mind and lull the victim into a false sense of security. Seducing one's prey, if you will."

This wasn't helping Janis to feel any better. "You're -- you're joking, right?"

"Afraid not." Olivia said in an apologetic tone, opening her mouth and baring a set of fangs.

Janis closed her eyes, shaking her head. "This is not real," she said, hoping that when she opened her eyes she'd wake up and find herself back at her apartment, in bed. This had to be a dream. Vampires were not real and they did not work for the FBI and also she had not slept with one. She opened her eyes to find everyone staring at her, waiting to go on. No, it was definitely not a dream. "This has got to be some kind of joke," Janis tried weakly. "I mean, vampires? They're fictional creatures, they don't really exist."

"Well, not in our universe." Peter said, just like that. Like it was a completely normal thing to say.

"And to clarify," Walter added, as if the whole damn situation didn't need a lot more clarifying. "Vampires are a product of science, they're not naturally created beings. They were made with no regard for the balances of nature or human life, which is repulsive."

Olivia snorted at that, but it seemed to be a comment unto herself. "Play around a little too much with human genetic code, and, well -- " she gestured at herself " -- this is what you get. Ta-da," she remarked wryly, with a little flourish. "Homo sapien striga. Or amor sanguinis, if you like. It's all the same."

"You -- you bit me," Janis said slowly, running her fingers over the bruise on her neck as her brain slowly began to process things. "That wasn't a hickey, you actually bit me. You bit me and you drank my blood," she accused, felt a swell of panic rising within her. "Does this mean I'm going to become a vampire now too?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Olivia told her, sounding almost bored, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "Just biting someone isn't enough to turn them. If it was, trust me, there would be a lot more vampires around."

Janis relaxed a little, oddly relieved by that. "Oh. Well," she started, but then stopped, uncertain of where she was going with this. "Well, you still bit me. And I am very much not okay with that!"

It took Janis a while to calm down, but once she'd managed to get over the shock of the whole vampire thing, Peter and the others began to explain everything to her. There was, according to them, an alternate universe; it was a mirror image, a reflection of their own universe, albeit with differences. As Walter explained, some of the differences were negotiable, but others were quite massive. One of the not so good things about the alternate universe was their creation of vampires.

The vampires were, apparently, a science experiment gone wrong, and somehow a good number of them had managed to find a way to cross between universes -- they'd ended up here, in this universe. The Fringe Division had learned about them very early on and they'd worked hard to keep the whole vampire mess under wraps. Unfortunately, free-roaming vampires were difficult to hunt and so it became nessecary to add in a Science Team to the Division for the purpose of studying the creators and coming up with cures for those who had been unlucky enough to be turned. That was where Walter came in, Peter told Olivia, gesturing at his father. Peter himself danced between researching and hunting, while Astrid was the liaison between the group and other departments of the FBI.

Olivia was their only full-time hunter; she'd been brought on after she'd been turned. Broyles had seen her potential as a hunter, believing in fighting fire with fire. "And now here you are," Peter said, sipping at his coffee. "You're going to be working with Olivia from now on; you'll mostly be going out hunting with her, but occasionally we'll need you for other things."

"Oh," Janis said, as soon as Peter was finished. "Oh. Well."

It was all much too much for her to take in in just one sitting; the whole thing seemed entirely unbelievable. And yet, here was Olivia standing across from her, grinning wide enough to show her fangs. Janis put her hand up to her neck, touching the bruised, sore skin there. As ridiculous as the whole alternate universe story had sounded, in a weird way, it sort of made a lot of sense.

There was really only one way to deal with all of this, she knew. And that was by getting to work and allowing her brain to just process everything as it happened.

"So," she said at last, turning to Olivia. "When do we start?"

 

;;

 

"So what's going on with you and Olivia?" Peter asked, as they sat in the Harvard cafeteria eating dinner. Janis had found a great resource in Peter when it came to learning things about the Fringe Division, having literally grown up being a part of it. She was eager to get as much information about the other universe as possible, and Peter seemed more than happy to share what he knew with her. And she didn't mind it too much when Peter asked her questions about herself, but Janis was simply unprepared when it came to anything involving Olivia Dunham.

Janis tried to play it straight."Who said there was anything going on?"

Peter gave her a look.

"Okay," Janis admitted, rolling her eyes. "So we slept together. Once. As I'm sure you're aware." She gave Peter a pointed look; he grinned, and Janis could tell he was remembering the bruise Olivia had left on her neck when she bit Janis. "But that's it, I don't know what's going on. I don't," Janis told him firmly, frowning. "Everything's sort of weird now because -- "

"She's a vampire?"

Janis sighed. "Well, yes. That. Among other things."

"Ah," Peter's grin widened as he uncapped his soda, taking a long swallow of it. "I get it, she's not just a vampire -- she's also a colleague."

Janis shrugged, picking at her salad half-heartedly. She'd put on too much dressing and the lettuce leaves with soggy now, saturated with Thousand Island. "It's not like I'd be completely opposed to, you know. Something happening. Between us."

Peter nodded sympathetically. "I can tell there's a 'but' there."

Janis picked at her salad. "But I'm afraid. Not a lot but -- I'm afraid of what might happen to the team if things sour between us. Or how it will affect our dynamic when we're out in the field." She'd seen it happen before, during her stay at the field office in Los Angeles. Affairs between co-workers never worked out, that's exactly what she'd told Olivia. But there was more to it than just that, she knew."And, if I'm honest, I'm a little afraid of her," Janis added, after a moment, because there really was no point in not stating the obvious. "I mean, she's a vampire. It's not really a matter of trust, but . . . "

"It's entirely a matter of trust," Peter interrupted, finishing his soup. "But I wouldn't worry about Olivia; she's been a vampire for ten something years now and she's never had a slip-up. She's the least dangerous vampire that I've ever seen -- and trust me when I say I've seen quite a few." He smiled a bit ruefully at that. "What I mean is," he continued, "it takes a strong will to keep one's vampire side under control, and that's exactly what Olivia has; she so badly wants to cling to the little human aspects of her that she has left." He paused, smiling. "But don't tell her I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me." Janis smiled.

"Look," Peter said, wiping at his mouth with his napkin. "All I'm saying is, if there's an opportunity here, why not take it? Olivia clearly cares about you. I can tell. I saw it when she looked at you, her first night back, right after you transferred in. You're not just anyone to her."

"Oh?"

Janis had not yet considered this.

 

;;

 

"Have dinner with me tonight," Janis said, cradling her phone between her ear and shoulder as she dressed for the evening, pulling on a pair of navy blue slacks. "There's a new place I want to try out in Boston."

"I don't really . . . eat," Olivia said through the phone. "As you should know."

"Come anyway then, and just order yourself a drink. Please?" Janis prodded, hitting the button for speakerphone on her cell and setting it aside to button up her shirt. "I don't know anyone else who lives around here, I haven't made any other friends yet. We can go straight to work after. And I'll pay," she added after a moment, with a sigh.

That seemed to spark Olivia's attention. "Alright. Fine."

They met at the restaurant just after seven o'clock; it had started raining as Janis had been driving and she'd hoped it was nothing more than a passing shower, but it had only seemed to get worse as she'd gotten closer to Boston. She couldn't help but hope that vampire hunting was slow on rainy days, as she parked her car and hurried across the street, skirting around puddles.

Olivia arrived only a few minutes later, annoyingly looking no worse for wear. She shrugged off her coat, hanging it over the back of her chair as she slid down in the seat across from Janis, just as the waitress came to take their orders: a snifter of brandy for Olivia and tortellini alla panna for Janis, with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

"So," Janis said, after the waitress had come back with their drinks. "How did you become a vampire?"

"You're not really supposed to ask someone a question like that, I don't think," Olivia told her, sitting back in her chair and taking a sip of her brandy. "It's rude."

Janis flushed a little, staring down at the table and straightening her silverware. "Sorry."

Olivia shrugged, absentmindedly swirling the contents of her glass before downing the rest of her brandy, setting the empty glass on the table. "It's fine," she sighed. "I don't mind you asking. It's not something I really care about keeping a secret. Besides, we're going to be . . . and also, well, you know."

"Right." Janis nodded.

"My stepdad bit me," Olivia said, leaning forward and folding her hands on the table. "I hadn't seen him since I was nine years old, after he ran out on my mom. He must have been tracking me, that's how he knew where I was. One night, after I was walking out to my car, he jumped out of the shadows attacked me. He bit me and would have killed me too, if I hadn't been able to get to my gun."

"So you killed him?" Janis frowned, confused."But I thought -- "

Olivia gave a small laugh, shaking her head. "These aren't like the vampires of legends. Since they're man-made, they obey certain . . . rules, if you will. A lot of the breeds of vampires, especially the older ones, are just as mortal as a regular human; a bullet to the brain is more than sufficient at putting them down."

Janis shrugged, took another sip of wine. "Well, I suppose that's good for us then," she commented.

"It's why I can go out in the sunlight, too -- well, some of the time. Even as a vampire I've still retained some human qualities." Olivia nodded at the waitress that passed them, asking for another glass of brandy. She turned back to Janis, continuing with her story. "I passed out from blood loss. When I woke up a few hours later, I was still lying on the ground, and I was thirsty -- I can't describe it. Maybe I was delirious from being bitten. But my stepfather was lying dead next to me, and his blood had pooled up around my head as well as his. And it was the strangest thing -- I just needed to drink it. So I did."

"Oh," Janis grimaced, trying to suppress the mental image.

Olivia smiled. Whether it was because of the memory or Janis' discomfort, Janis didn't know, but both theories made her uneasy. Olivia took the new glass of brandy the waitress offered her, handing over her empty one. The two wet rings made by the glass were overlapping, connected in the middle. It made Janis think of a solar eclipse.

"As it turns out," Olivia said, swallowing half her drink in one go and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "In order to become a vampire, you have to drink the blood of the one who sires you. Lucky me. I was in the hospital for a while after the attack and I was still in there when Walter came to me, offering his services to try and help."

"They've been studying vampires all this time?" Janis was surprised.

"Sort of. I don't think the FBI knew what they had on their hands at first. Also, too, the other world is more scientifically advanced than we are, so we had to play catch up. We're still playing catch up, truth be told. Every time Walter thinks he's found a cure, a new breed of vampire shows up. New to us, anyway. It seems the vampire strain in the other world has been mutating itself for quite a while now."

"What about your strain?" Janis asked.

Olivia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, Walter found a cure for that years ago."

Janis was confused. "So why are you still a vampire?" she asked. She had just assumed that Olivia was a vampire because a cure hadn't yet been found.

"Because I need to be," Olivia said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's much easier for a vampire to hunt down other vampires than it is for a human. Even with their weaknesses, vampires are much stronger than regular humans. Faster too."

"If humans are so powerless against vampires, why bring me in, then?"

"Ah, well," Olivia sat back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap. "The thing is, being a vampire has some disadvantages too. You'd be surprised how often people can tell; I don't mean that they can tell I'm a vampire, but they can just sense it, you know? They can sense that something's off, that there's something not quite right about me. It puts people off."

Janis nodded. "Okay. Sure. So what am I supposed to be then? Because right now I just feel like I'm supposed to be a liaison between you and everyone else and frankly, I don't really see why you need me, specifically, for it. Why not just ask Peter or Astrid to do it?"

"Because I need someone who's versatile," Olivia explained. "Peter's strong enough to go out on hunts with me and he's got more connections than you could dream of. Walter's a genius. And besides being an expert when it comes to public relations, Astrid definitely knows her way around a computer. But you," she shifted, leaning forward on the table and fixing Janis with a hard look, "you can do all three of those things. I need more than just an expert in each field, I need someone who's dabbled in all of them. Like I said: versatile."

"Oh," Janis said softly. She supposed that that made sense; she couldn't deny that she felt a little delighted about being seen as the kind of person Olivia described. Whether or not Olivia meant it to be a compliment, Janis was certainly going to take it as one.

They were quiet for a little while, Janis picking at her dinner and Olivia nursing a glass of brandy. Janis liked these kinds of moments best, she decided. There was a certain kind of familiarity between them, her and Olivia, and the silences between them were welcome, not awkward.

At last Olivia said, "You're different, too, you know. That's why I picked you."

"Different?" Janis reached for her glass of wine. "Different how?"

"We've actually met before," Olivia told her, looking out the window into the city, watching as the cars rolled slowly past, the rain outside making everything shiny and blurry. "It was a long time ago, you probably don't remember it at all. It was right after I was turned, actually, Broyles had me out in California on assignment there. You stood in front of me in line at a coffee shop and when you caught my eye, you smiled at me." She paused, smiling as if recalling the memory. "You'd picked a scab on your arm and it was bleeding."

Janis raised an eyebrow, setting her glass down on the table."That's quite a thing to remember."

"You never forget the smell of someone's blood," Olivia told her, her smile slowly fading. "No two people smell alike. And then, years later, when I had to come to the Los Angeles field office branch for a meeting, even though I didn't see you, I knew you were there; I could smell your blood. And so when the opportunity came in for a transfer, I asked for you."

"It's a nice story," Janis sighed, crossing her legs. "But it doesn't really answer my question."

"People get weird around me." Olivia shook her head, glancing around the room as if to illustrate her point. "But not you. Not then and not now. I don't know why."

Janis shrugged. It was true that she found something unsettling about Olivia, in an instinctual, unknown way; she told Olivia as much, picking her glass back up to finish off her drink. "But if I'm honest, it doesn't make me not want to be around you; on the contrary, I find myself intrigued by you. I felt it that night in the bar and I feel it now still."

Olivia grinned, looking down into her drink. Janis watched a bead of perspiration roll down the edge of the glass, drip off the end. "You know," Olivia said, "this is possibly the most romantic of a conversation I have ever had." She paused, held up her glass in a mock cheer. "It's probably because of the brandy."

"Brandy does seem to have that effect on people," Janis agreed with a smile.

 

;;

 

They didn't get their first field assignment until almost a week after Janis arrived.

Olivia explained that they didn't go hunting every night, that they only did so when Broyles had information about an area that might be a vampire's hunting grounds. There were a lot of vampires, Olivia told Janis, but they wouldn't be able to find them by going out and simply waiting for one to cross their path. Rather, they had to wait until they knew a place where they could find one and kill it before it had a chance to sire any offspring (which was rare, apparently, vampires preferred to kill, not turn their victims).

On the night they were sent out for an assignment, Olivia picked Janis up at her apartment, driving a black Chevy Suburban that Janis didn't think suited her at all, even if it was a company car. She'd always pictured Olivia driving a sportier sort of car, something sleek, yet efficient. Dangerous.

They parked out near an abandoned lot in Andover, which was, according to Olivia, where a few bodies had recently turned up. Broyles had stepped in and taken control of the situation before the local officials could get a chance to go public with the deaths, and he'd instructed Olivia to go deal with the problem. Janis mostly got to come along for the ride; Olivia didn't seem to expect or want her to help with the hunt that evening, unless the situation called for it. That particular fact annoyed Janis; she didn't like to be seen as the tag-along.

"What are those?" Janis asked, watching Olivia pull a round of bullets out of her bag, refilling the magazine, and slamming it back into place. They looked a lot shinier than any bullets Janis had ever seen.

"Silver bullets." Olivia put her gun back in its holster. "Walter and Peter designed them."

Janis frowned. "But I thought -- "

"I got lucky," Olivia said quickly, leaning back against the hood of their car, nostrils flaring a little as the wind picked up for a moment. "Just because we've never come across a vampire that's immune to regular bullets, doesn't mean we shouldn't play it safe."

"What," Janis leaned on the car next to her, "are good old-fashioned stakes not good enough?"

Olivia gave her a withering look. "Oh, right, I forgot we were in Sunnydale," she said, not even attempting to hide the sarcasm in her tone.

Janis rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but, aren't silver bullets kind of a werewolf thing?"

"Not in the world the vampires come from," Olivia told her. "I've told you, these aren't like the vampires you've read about in our world's stories. You can't expect the other world to have the same sort of mythology that we do."

"You act like this sort of thing comes with a how-to manual," Janis told her, feeling slighted.

Olivia shook her head, frowning."It's your job, Agent Hawk," she said. "Figure it out."

 

;;

 

"I'm learning," Janis panted, in-between kisses, as Olivia worked to undo her belt, tugging Janis' pants and underwear down to mid-thigh. Janis gasped as Olivia's fingers slipped inside her, pushing hard. "I am. Cut me some slack."

Olivia grunted, shifting her weight; the back of the car was a little too cramped for this sort of thing, but apparently hunting got Olivia all riled up and Janis, despite her misgivings, wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of rewarding themselves after a job well done.

"You could get hurt," Olivia muttered against Janis' ear, nipping at it. "Do you want that? Because I don't. And the more you understand and know about what we do, the safer you'll be. Please, just try harder."

There was an urgency to her tone that startled Janis, a little.

 

;;

 

The next few nights were largely uneventful. Janis quickly learned that vampire hunting wasn't even half as cool and exciting as it sounded, but was, in fact, quite boring. She mostly chalked this up to the fact that her job was pretty much to sit in the car and keep watch. Olivia was fairly capable of hunting entirely on her own, but apparently she liked the company and the fact that if she needed help, Janis was already there.

One such evening, Janis was sitting in the car, picking at her nails and bored out of her mind; she hated always having to be the sidekick who sat around while Olivia went out and did the actual hunting. Olivia had tried to make it seem like Janis was being useful, staying with the car in case things got out of control and they needed to get away in a hurry, but Janis knew the truth: she'd only be a nuisance while Olivia was trying to track a vampire.

She had the heat on, as the evening was a bit cool, but now the car had become uncomfortably warm and the quiet buzzing of the radio as the signal dropped in and out was only giving Janis a headache. Sighing, she reached forward and cut the engine, tucking the keys into her jacket pocket. It was only after that when she finally looked up and saw Olivia standing a couple dozen yards away from the car, half-hidden in the shadow of the underpass.

Olivia gestured for her to get out of the car and come over.

Janis sighed and climbed out, kicking the door shut behind her. She was barely able to ask what was wrong before she was tackled to the ground by a snarling, frantic mess of a vampire. Janis was surprised by how strong the vampire was, even though it wasn't much bigger than herself; she struggled against it as she tried to reach for her gun. The vampire kept her pinned down, and it was all Janis could do to keep from getting bitten.

But then there came a high-pitched whistle and the vampire stilled, looking up. It was only for a moment, but a second later Janis heard the pop of a gun being fired and a cry of pain from the vampire, as it fell back, dead. The shot to its head had splashed a spray of blood across Janis' face and she frantically wiped it away, climbing back onto her feet.

"Nice," Olivia said, striding over and looking down at the dead vampire. "I knew he wouldn't be able to resist a kill if it was presented to him. He was hungry." She glanced over at Janis. "Thanks for your help."

"What was that!" Janis cried, stepping back quickly from the vampire who now lay still in the ground.

"Sorry," Olivia said, not sounding sorry at all. She tucked her gun back away, snapping the holster closed as she strode over to the dead vampire. She nudged it first with her foot, before crouching down to examine it some more. Janis watched as Olivia bent over the body, sniffing at the air; she wondered just how much Olivia could tell about another vampire just from smell.

After a moment, Olivia dipped her forefinger in the puddle of blood forming around the vampire's head, bringing it to her mouth. Janis grimaced, frowning at Olivia as she stood up, licking her lips thoughtfully. "It's an older vampire," she said, more to herself than Janis. "He's been in our world for a while. It's a good thing we managed to kill it."

Janis was still shaken from her brush with death. "Well, next time you decide to use me as bait to lure out a vampire, could you please give me some kind of head's up first? I could have died! I very nearly died, Olivia."

Olivia wiped her hands on her pants. "But you didn't, which is the important thing," she told Janis, in an annoyingly patronizing tone. "Anyway, even if you'd been bitten, I would have made sure that you'd be turned before you could die on me."

"Oh, great, thanks," Janis rolled her eyes. "What makes you think I'd even want to be a vampire? Maybe I'd just prefer to die."

"'Do not go gentle into that good night,'" Olivia quoted, as she led Janis back to the car. "No one ever chooses death, only life. It's our great fear of the unknown, the after part of death that keeps us clinging to life. Like it or not, it's in our nature. We're only human, after all."

"Regardless," Janis grumbled, climbing into the passenger seat. "I would prefer not to have to make that kind of literal life or death decision just yet."

Olivia sighed, starting the car. "I'll let you know next time I plan on using you as bait," she said, with a small smile.

"That's all I ask," Janis said, settling back in her seat, trying to calm her still racing heart.

 

;;

 

Things got a little bit easier than that.

As the days passed, Janis found herself learning more and more about the other world, thanks to her regular conversations with Peter -- and also a lengthy, tedious lecture with Walter that Janis was unfortunate enough to get herself roped into. Astrid helped too; once she discovered Janis' skill with computers, she was more than happy to let Janis get involved with some of the research and development aspects of the job.

Olivia was the one thing that didn't seem to change much as as the weeks went on; she was, Janis mused, always just out of reach. It was hard to get a read on her, vampire or no vampire, and Janis was never really certain just what Olivia thought of her.

Janis though, for the most part, had started to like Olivia quite a bit. She knew she really shouldn't let her feelings grow too strong, but it was hard to fight against them. Despite her cool exterior, Olivia could actually be rather charming, and she was simply irresistible after a kill, so wound up from the hunt. Janis had to admit that she enjoyed spending time with Olivia, both during and outside of work, even when Olivia was in less cheerful moods.

"So," Janis asked later, as Olivia traced her fingers lazily up the curve of Olivia's hip. "What exactly is this -- this thing we have."

Janis had been unable to sleep; even after a long shower and lying in bed for an hour and a half, listening to the sounds of the city as they drifted up from the street and into her apartment through the open bedroom window, sleep had evaded her. So she'd sighed and reached for her cellphone on her nightstand, dialing Olivia's number.

Of course, Olivia didn't sleep, so she was knocking on Janis' door in twenty minutes, grinning at Janis, who had her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and was wearing a rumpled, over-sized men's shirt and not much else. Janis hadn't exactly intended to just invite Olivia over for sex, but she certainly hadn't protested when Olivia had gently pressed her onto the couch with a kiss.

Now, though, they were in bed, with Janis' shoulder aching a little from where Olivia had grazed her with her teeth; there was already an ugly, purple-green bruise forming around the cut. Olivia had mumbled an apology when she'd accidentally hurt Janis, and Janis had been startled by the blushing, shameful expression on Olivia's face.

She'd kissed Olivia as hard as she could, even though she could taste her own blood on Olivia's tongue, and assured her it was fine.

"Aren't we dating?" Janis asked, as Olivia rolled onto her side to face her.

"Are we?"

Janis hesitated, suddenly uncertain. "I thought so," she said slowly.

There was a long pause that made Janis uncomfortable. Maybe she should have said something else, Janis found herself thinking. Maybe she just should have said that she didn't know. Or maybe she just shouldn't have said anything at all. But she'd been wondering about it for a while now, ever since that first evening when Olivia had said she could keep her private and business relationships separate. And work or otherwise, they spent most of their time together.

They'd slept together a few times as well, and Janis thought that at the very least they were casually dating. Even so, she felt a sense of dread creeping over her as Olivia sighed and closed her eyes.

"The thing is, Janis," she said, and Janis could tell this wasn't going to go anywhere good, "I'm not really . . . good at dating. Or being human. This -- us -- it isn't what you want. Maybe you think it is, now. But there will come a point in time when you'll want more. And I will not be able to give it to you."

"Why is it that vampires are always so full of angst?" Janis asked, surprised to find herself more annoyed than anything else. "And here I was beginning to think all the stories I read were wrong."

"It's not a joke," Olivia said, frowning. "And you would feel the same, if you were in my position."

Janis rolled her eyes, sitting up. "It's just dating, Olivia. I'm not suggesting we get married."

"But maybe that's what you might want, one day," Olivia said, sitting up as well.

"You can't know that," Janis said, reaching for the blanket and pulling it up around her. "And you're being ridiculous. Do you think I haven't already thought about this? I know what you are, Olivia, and I know that you being a vampire complicates things -- I mean, of course it does -- but why do we have to get ahead of ourselves? Why can't we just enjoy being together for the time being?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Olivia said, in an irritated voice.

"And I'm glad for it," Janis told her with a sigh. "I am. But have you ever considered that it's more that you don't want yourself to get hurt? That's what you're really afraid of. Vampire or no vampire, I know lots of girls just like you, and I can tell you that this is the one time where you're not special. But I have to say," she added after a minute, shaking her head, "I'm surprised; I thought you were fearless."

Olivia huffed, crossing her arms. "You know, you're very annoying," she grumbled, and Janis knew that she had won.

 

;;

 

Janis said one morning, "I've been doing some thinking."

They were sitting in a little coffee shop, just after six o'clock. The sun had started to come up over an hour ago, but now the light was beginning to hurt Janis' eyes. She squinted as she looked out the window, turning back to Olivia. She was still getting used to the odd shift hours that the Fringe Division worked by and as such, felt sluggish and groggy from a lack of sleep.

"Oh?" Olivia asked, stirring her coffee.

Janis yawned. "Yeah. When I found out I was getting transferred, I was completely dreading it. Moving here I mean. Getting adjusted to a new job. And to be honest, it turned out to be a lot harder than I ever expected it to be." She sipped delicately at her tea. "I mean, really, vampire hunting? Alternate universes? It's all a little too much."

"So do you miss your old office, then?" Olivia asked her, holding her coffee cup with both hands, blowing gently on it to cool it off. "Would you be happier if you were to transfer back?"

"No, see, that's the thing," Janis explained. She watched the wisps of steam drift up from her cup. "I'm actually glad I got transferred. There's so much more that I learned by coming here that I would have never, ever learned about back at the Los Angeles field office. I like that And to tell the truth in its own way, it's also kind of fun. Scary, but fun."

Olivia smiled. "Well, I'm glad. Because I would have been seriously opposed to you transferring back," she added after a moment, her tone turning serious. "I probably would have had to resort to biting you, just to keep you here."

"That would have been a bad idea," Janis told her. "I'd make a terrible vampire."

Olivia snorted. "I have no doubt about that."

Janis laughed and aimed a kick at her under the table. "Besides," she added, after a minute. "How cliché would that have been, right?"


End file.
